Gaming at 2560x1440

I am looking to pull the trigger on the parts to build a new gaming PC. The game that I play the most is SWTOR, so its not the most demanding game. Anyway, I am seriously looking at a 27" 2560x1440 monitor. A couple of questions:

Would a 660TI be enough horse power to drive that monitor? I think so, but I have found enough information that makes me question if it will. I am not looking for 60+ FPS all the time, but I would like to keep it above 30.

What should I be looking for in a monitor? "They" say I need low latency/fast response time. What exactly does that mean?

I thought about putting this in the Gaming Box Buying Guide thread, but I thought it should be its own entity.

Should be fine for SW:TOR-- as you pointed out it's not the most demanding.

SW:TOR isn't a very twitch (input lag sensitive) game so even a cheap eBay Korean-company monitor with more excessive input lag would probably be okay, although lower input lag is still preferable if you can justify it (e.g. an HP ZR2740w is known for very low input lag).

Response time is a measure of how fast the pixels can change colors (very different than input lag), faster is better but it's another tough metric to measure-- since the classic black-to-white or grey-to-grey only measures one kind of transition! However most modern monitors should be more than adequate for what you're doing.

SW:TOR isn't a very twitch (input lag sensitive) game so even a cheap eBay Korean-company monitor with more excessive input lag would probably be okay, although lower input lag is still preferable if you can justify it (e.g. an HP ZR2740w is known for very low input lag).

It's really more "display lag" than "input lag". Basically, the time difference between a LCD getting a picture and actually displaying it. The faster paced your game is, the more it matters.

The Korean panel I have has very low input lag, due to its lack of a scaler/processor. It does have a fair amount of backlight bleed, but $280 for a 2560x1440 monitor I can't complain too loudly. I drive it with a 6850 with no problems. I can't compare its lag to my old CRT due to the 6850's inability to output dual channel dvi and vga.

You'll get at least as much input lag as your framerate. Even with v-sync disabled, the frame has to be fully transmitted before it can be displayed (so you can say that LCDs have "hard v-sync"). Even if, with a very high framerate and v-sync off, that frame is really a bunch of hideous strips of previous frames.

It makes no sense... I just get a black screen with it on the 6970 BIOS. It worked great on my old ASUS motherboard. ^2

TheVelourFog wrote:

It is but worth it. The size is just perfect. Honestly, you have to use one to understand because it's a terrible deal on paper.

I want a 27" at the minimum. Unfortunately the whole display lag issue is headache inducing. TV manufacturers learned to include a "game" mode that turns the scalar off, why can't the monitor manufacturers just copy them?

I game at 1440p on a Catleap from eBay. Best purchase in my PC enthusiast history. My Geforce 670 drives it very well. I might get another one for SLI this summer after I finish my backlog of games and get into the more recent, more demanding titles.

My Cinema display 27" and Shimian are both good for gaming. My Microcenter Auria, otoh, is not. That said, very few games benefit from 7680x1440, though Stardrive is amusing to play at that resolution.

My Cinema display 27" and Shimian are both good for gaming. My Microcenter Auria, otoh, is not. That said, very few games benefit from 7680x1440, though Stardrive is amusing to play at that resolution.

I've had 50X16 and 57X16 surround sets, and gamed on a variety of others. For me, I prefer one larger high res display to the sense of peripheral vision surround and eyefinity provide.

If I were the OP, I'd buy this 7970 Black Edition right now before they raise the price again. $369 for that card with Crysis 3 and Bioshock Infinite is by FAR the best deal in video cards now. Even if you don't like those games (just finished Crysis 3- it rocks) the bundle can sold for $60+ bringing the cost of the card to $300..

I bought this card (it's in one of my rigs now) and a standard speed 7970 Double D to get the first Never Settle bundle. CrossfireX lags behind SLi for ease of use, but you can't beat 7970s for bang per buck on single card.

When you consider the difference in a 660Ti and a 1050 clocked 7970, the $100 upgrade cost seems pretty cheap for 25X14.

I had a 30", sold it. The 27" is fine and I'd rather have the price difference as more video card or better speakers.

Aw. And to think I once looked up to you as a consumer god!

(32" HDTV, 1920 * 1080, and it's terrific).

Even with a GTX570, running -everything- maxed in Planetside 2, things will look nice, but as soon as someone close to you is shooting, the lag spikes will affect your view and twitch gaming becomes 'overcorrection city' as you try to move your aim (and invariable die in the process).

Can't justify the $$$ to upgrade my 2010-era video-card. Not yet. Paying $1,000 for a Titan, hah. Paying $700 for two noisy SLI video cards, not worth the hassle. Losing at Planetside 2, par for the course.

Can't justify the $$$ to upgrade my 2010-era video-card. Not yet. Paying $1,000 for a Titan, hah. Paying $700 for two noisy SLI video cards, not worth the hassle. Losing at Planetside 2, par for the course.

I've got a pair of eVGA GTX 570s ... they aren't exactly "quiet," but they aren't very noisy, either. The two 6570's in my HT/LivingRoom PC are noisier than this pair ...

I am looking to pull the trigger on the parts to build a new gaming PC. The game that I play the most is SWTOR, so its not the most demanding game. Anyway, I am seriously looking at a 27" 2560x1440 monitor. A couple of questions:

Would a 660TI be enough horse power to drive that monitor? I think so, but I have found enough information that makes me question if it will. I am not looking for 60+ FPS all the time, but I would like to keep it above 30.

What should I be looking for in a monitor? "They" say I need low latency/fast response time. What exactly does that mean?

I thought about putting this in the Gaming Box Buying Guide thread, but I thought it should be its own entity.

Thanks!

If you don't play graphically demanding games, a 660ti will be fine. I can attest however, that something new like Bioshock Infinite will be dipping below 30 during heavy action even at 1920x1080, when all the settings are turned to max. Actually, come to think of it, MMOs are very also demanding if you get into fights with 20+ people on the same screen spamming spells with lots of particle effects; dropping into single digit frame rates isn't impossible in those situations even on the latest hardware at 1920x1080.